2 SAMUEL 5: 1-3
PSALM 121: 1-5
COLOSSIANS 1: 11-20
LUKE 23: 35-43

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What does it mean for us that Jesus is King? What sort of King are we talking about: Is it a crucified King?

How we live out our faith depends on our image of who Jesus as King is for us. It affected the image that his disciples had before and after Jesus’ resurrection.

Today’s feast day of Christ the King reminds us that Christ has conquered sin and evil. He is our King, and we are called to follow him, to live in his kingdom. Jesus’ kingship is won at the moment of his death. It was the evil in people that killed him; yet evil could not control or defeat him because he did not himself give in to evil. Instead it was he who destroys all that is evil, sin and death.

In the first reading David received the royal anointing as shepherd-king. For the Israelites the role of the king was to represent God’s presence and power on earth because God was the King of his people. Thus the kingly function was a sacred one: to lead; to protect; to give hope; to save; and guide God’s people to live a true covenant people. There is a relationship between the ruler and the people – a pact. The pastoral image of the shepherd is used to describe this hope of mode of leadership.

Jesus, the Son of God achieves a dramatic and cosmic expression of this in his death on the cross.

The presentation of the crucifixion of Jesus is full of irony though. Jesus is mocked as a king and Saviour. The paradoxical reign of God is emerging through suffering and desolation. There are those that accept Jesus and those who reject him.

And so Jesus is a different kind of king.
Jesus did not come to conquer but to convert.
He did not come to rule but to serve.
He was not out to hoard possessions but to give them away.
He devoted all his love, time and energy in seeking out the sick, the poor, the lost, the sinner and the lonely.
At the end he even gave his life away for all of us.

Christ now invites us to a relationship with him where as our king his desire is to share in his loving relationship with God the Father.

Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Christ the King in 1925. It was a time when all of Europe was still recovering from the tragedies of World War I. There were many who believed that there could be no more war, for it cost too much. Yet, there was something happening that did not look good for the future. The feast of Christ the King was a feast of prayers and readings in which people would hear the message of hope, justice, peace, community and love, instead of the marching bands and hate-filled speeches.

Today, there is much that is good and to look forward to. Yet, like 1925 there are real dangers that confronts the world. There is a need to return to Christ and to commit ourselves more and more to his love.

The kingdom that Jesus invites us to is not something we wait for but is available to us now. Often it is our material possessions, pride, hatred, selfishness that shuts us from that kingdom.

In the end all that matters is whether we accept Jesus as our Saviour and King. For Jesus can do nothing if we reject his love.

Life as a disciple of Jesus is not one of wealth and good health. It is one of the hope of loving relationships beginning with that with Christ, our King, our Saviour and God.

MALACHI 3: 19-20
PSALM 97: 5-9
2 THESSALONIANS 3: 7-12
LUKE 21: 5-19

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As we come to the end of the church calendar, the readings have an apocalyptic dimension. There has always been a great interest in when the end time will come. We too today have our share of doomsday prophets. The problem with such prophets today is that the message they preach is one of fear that paralyses people. How often have we seen such attitude end in disaster?

This is far from the purpose of the apocalyptic writings in the Bible. The apocalyptic writing is not to make people fearful but to give them hope in time of great suffering and persecution.

Today’s Gospel foretells the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem and hardships to come. These things will happen but through it all, Jesus calls us to be his witnesses, a people of faith, hope and love……He will be with us. The main purpose of this Gospel was to strengthen their faith when it is tested.

St. Paul was writing to a people in Thessalonica who thought that Jesus’ Second Coming was very close at hand. Some Thessalonians felt that, as this was the case, it was no longer necessary to work. St Paul condemned their life of idleness.

In a true story, Dan Poling spoke of his last conversation to his son, Clark before his son reported back to the army transport ship that was to carry him to his death in WW 2. Clark Poling was one of the four chaplains on the Dorchester that was sunk in 1943. As their father-son chat came to a close, Clark said, “Dad, remember me as I return to my post of duty.”

Dan Poling replied, “Son, I’ll pray every day that God will bring you back home without a scratch.” Clark, the young chaplain said, “Dad, please don’t pray that way. I want you to pray that I will be adequate for any situation.”

When last seen by those who survived this terrible ordeal, Rev Clark Poling was standing on the deck of the sinking ship with three other chaplains, giving their life jackets to enlisted men. All four chaplains went down with the ship.

The Christian disciple does not worry about when the end time will be in the future but about how we are living our faith in the present time.

Our Christian duty is not to calculate when the end time is; our Christian duty is to be a people of hope.

EZEKIEL 47: 1-2, 8-9,12
PSALM 45: 2-3, 5-6, 8-9
1 CORINTHIANS 3: 9-11, 16-17
JOHN 2: 13-22

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Why is this feast so important? The Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral Church of the diocese of Rome and was dedicated to Christ our Saviour in the 4th century. Because it is the Cathedral Church of Rome, it is called the mother and head of all churches of the city and of the world. For a thousand years, it was the seat of Church government until the Pope moved to the Vatican in the fourteenth century.

The Lateran Basilica is the symbol of our unity with Jesus through the Church with his chosen pastor the Pope.

The history of the Basilica in a way reflects the journey of faith of the Church. During that time the Basilica had suffered from earthquakes and been attacked by invaders, built up, vandalised and rebuilt.

In a way the story of the basilica, reminds us that the Church is just a symbol of something greater, the presence of the Risen Christ through the Holy Spirit. And it is because that Christ is ever present, as with the basilica, God never abandons us in times of trials and disaster but renews us always that those trials can become time of growth in faith. How often the Church had been blessed by saints who help renew the Church.

Pope St Leo the Great held the Church together when the barbarians invaded Europe in the 6th Century; St Catherine of Sienna worked tirelessly to reunite the Church at a time when it had two popes; St Francis and St Dominic began new orders that was so needed at that time; another new order the Jesuits began when the Church was in need of reforming, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop help the faith to grow here in Australia.
Today’s feast reminds us that Christ is ever present and always provides.

In our first reading, the vision of the prophet Ezekiel was received at a desperate time for the Jewish people. The temple of Jerusalem was the symbol of unity of the people of Israel. But in Ezekiel’s time, the temple was destroyed, and the people were in exile.
Ezekiel’s prophecy was a vision of hope in the restored temple of Jerusalem, which will once again become the focus of their faith.

The gospel speaks of Christ as the new temple who is the source of our faith and life.
No matter where we are, our faith in Christ brings us to his temple. Many a times when churches were closed by oppressive governments or where there were no churches, the faith of the people lived on.

This is reflected in Paul’s letter today where whilst he speaks of Jesus Christ as the foundation of the Church which is the Temple of God, he also states that the church is made up of people. As Church, the people of God, we are all called to continue to build the temple of God here on Earth. The temple of God is seen as something that is alive and not a static building.

And like the Lateran Basilica, Paul’s mission too had its ups and down, but his faith in Christ help him to persevere. And this reflection is so important for as the Gospel show, people can so easily be diverted from the mission of Christ.

Through the centuries the message of God was passed down, not by buildings but the people who transmit a life and tradition.

Today’s feast then also invites us to reflect on how are we building the temple of God, how are we as Church a sacrament of Christ in the world, how as Church are we life giving in the world. It is in our unity with Christ through his Church that the message of God is proclaimed.

One central aspect of unity is where we are able to support each other in faith. Like the story of the Church, there are many people of faith that Christ brings into our lives to help us. Each of us are called to be a St Francis, or a St Catherine to one another urging us on in faith.